Center of Gravity is defined as which of the following?

Center of Gravity is defined as which of the following?

• A. A 3D point where the total weight of the body may be considered to be concentrated.
• B. The point where a shape can rotate around.
• C. The maximum thickness point.
• D. The centroid of a 2D projection.

Answer: (A)

Center of gravity is the point at which the object's total weight can be considered to act. In a uniform gravity field, all of the weight can be replaced by a single force acting through this point, and the body will balance as if that weight were acting there. This point is a three-dimensional location that depends on how mass is distributed. If density is uniform, it coincides with the geometric centroid, but with varying density it may shift away from the centroid. The other ideas—a rotation pivot, the widest thickness, or the centroid of a 2D projection—don’t describe where the weight effectively acts for the whole 3D body, so they aren’t correct definitions of center of gravity.

Center of gravity is the point at which the object's total weight can be considered to act. In a uniform gravity field, all of the weight can be replaced by a single force acting through this point, and the body will balance as if that weight were acting there. This point is a three-dimensional location that depends on how mass is distributed. If density is uniform, it coincides with the geometric centroid, but with varying density it may shift away from the centroid. The other ideas—a rotation pivot, the widest thickness, or the centroid of a 2D projection—don’t describe where the weight effectively acts for the whole 3D body, so they aren’t correct definitions of center of gravity.